Philippine Airlines cuts flights, ground crew

MANILA : Flag-carrier Philippine Airlines said Saturday it would temporarily slash flight frequencies over the next two months as part of a cost-saving programme that would also eliminate 2,600 jobs. Eleven flights to Hong Kong, Bangkok, New Delhi, Macau, Singapore, Los Angeles, Vancouver, Guam, Sydney, Melbourne and Incheon would be affected from October 1, or 12 percent of the international total, a PAL statement said. Thirty percent of local flights would be suspended as catering, ground handling and call centre reservations are farmed out to third-party service providers, PAL spokeswoman Cielo Villaluna said. "These measures will help alleviate the inevitable minor kinks in PAL's service as we go through this difficult but necessary transition period." Normal service would resume on varying dates in October and November, she added. The loss-making carrier earlier annou...